For years, Chinese manufacturers displaced Western companies by offering lower prices. More recently they began to disrupt by challenging existing business models. Displacement was easy to combat by improving processes and lowering costs but fighting disruption required innovation along business models, which entailed transformation of business processes as well as reformulation of value propositions.

With iPhone generating about two thirds of its revenue, Apple was trying to boost its service and other product lines. It had also invested in solar powered energy systems as well as a wind turbine technology in China. The Company also ventured with Didi (the company which outdid Uber in China) to develop self-driving vehicles. Exploring new strategic pastures, however, Apple had to ensure the success of iPhone 8 while further leveraging its platform ecosystem.

It was not clear how Apple could reposition itself to sustain the pushback by the Chinese brands while exploring new strategic pastures in light of possible tightening of the Sino¡VU.S. economic relations.?